Day 15- Thursday 10 June

So it was raining today too, only with wind, and it was a bit difficult to get around, unfortunately- the metro turns stuffy and sticky and just plain ick and the wind will invert your umbrella and most people are just not happy. There was a break in the middle of the day where I thought it would turn fantastic, with sunshine drying the benches, nice clouds, sopping wet pigeons picking themselves up off the streets, but the wind blew that away and it is still raining, actually, as I write this. Well, whatever, tomorrow is St Denis. Today I hung out in a park during the brief sunny bit and did my homework, and then took refuge in St Sulpice for a fair while when the sunny bit was over. I call it a cathedral, because it's pretty huge, but their translation of it is just 'church,' so it might be a perspective thing, like calling hills in Maine mountains, which I still do, only churches are cathedrals because I'm a history-starved American. BUT, to my family, I think I mentioned this: While I was away I moved us to Canada, and it might be permanent. Tried to get into St Chapelle, but you have to get a ticket and there was a line a block long, so that merits more reading, walked around a bit because the blisters are much better and went to Mouffetard instead for some fruit. Had dinner at fellow Abroadco students' apartment, and it's my turn next week, and that'll be interesting because I currently possess: one (1) plate, one (1) bowl, one (1) glass, one (1) knife, one (1) spoon and one (1) fork. The pans are communal to the floor kitchen, and there is no soap, and actually the dishes aren't even mine, I'm borrowing them from one of the apartments [leaving them down to two bowls and one knife, slim pickings]. No worries. And believe it or not, that was my day. It just takes chunks traveling everywhere, and showering before going over to someone's place, and getting food, and I haven't even done any laundry yet.

Weird stuff about France: Maybe you can tell I'm having a bit of a down day, but Paris really is not friendly. Sometimes the shop people are nice and will talk in French, but, of course, they're salespeople. I don't think the other students have noticed it so much when we've eaten out, but the waiters hate us. I don't feel like I can trust anyone; I've talked to the other students and they've had crazies come up and talk to them, too, but even fairly normal people, like one woman I met on a tour, I don't tell anything. It's just really strange. On a vaguely lighter side, I saw the homeless man with the rabbit again today. Also, ladybugs here are black with red spots.